Effect (n): The result of a change.

Effected

His Little One can't see it but he can. The tether that keeps his Aibou from drifting too far from his body. If he were to take the time to think about it he knows he would admit he can see it because he no longer has the same tether. Oh sure he can borrow his Aibou's body whenever he wishes but his tether isn't bound to flesh and blood. Instead, it always pulls him back to the puzzle. If he wanders too far away it is like a rubber band, pulled too tight and it snaps back with painful backlash. He'd learned after the third time never to get any further than a few feet from his Little One.

Being bound to the puzzle and thus bound to his Aibou he's always keeping watch over the teen, ensuring no bullies single him out, warning him of obstructions he wouldn't see otherwise or even going as far as reminding him to do his homework before he goes to bed for the night.

The spirit worries for his Little One, always wanting the best and to keep him safe. In such a way that's why he notices Yugi's illness before the others. It starts as a small cough. Well, a coughing fit at least. The teen wakes up from a troubled sleep one morning, his throat raspy and falls into a fit before he gets up and gets ready for school.

Are you sure you should be going to school when you're sick? He asks the teen, hovering off to his right when Yugi comes to stand in front of the mirror.

His Little One just smiles, shakes his head, and heads out the door. They both know there is a heavy sickness going around. Yami pays more attention than Yugi thinks when they watch the news with his Grandfather. Even still the teen is too stubborn to worry about a little cold when spring break is coming up.

Over the next week, his little cold gets worse. It starts with a cough. Yugi coughs so much in his sleep he's exhausted in the mornings. When he dozes off during school Yami tries his best to make the teen comfortable in his soul room, holding him close while the spirit pays attention to the lessons instead. It helps but not by much. At the end of the day, he shakes the teen awake to head home and Yugi can barely open his eyes let alone lift his head.

"Aibou." He rumbles, watching the teen curl impossibly further into his arms.

Yugi sighs, the illness of the body distanced from his soul room, and closes his eyes once more. "I'm okay, Yami." He murmurs with a quiet breath. "Just tired."

The spirit manages to get them home, only partially aware of the outside world in his worry for the Little One slumbering within. They crash on the couch, Yami leaving Yugi curled up under a handful of blankets to hold off the shivering before he settles between the teen and his Grandfather to watch the news.

It's called the Coronavirus. The illness that's wreaking havoc across the country and further abroad. Schools are being closed as of the next day and the political leaders are considering whether to close down stores or not. A term he's never heard before, Social Distancing, comes up multiple times in the span of half an hour. When he decides to take his Little One to bed only one sentence from the news sticks in his head—very few survive.

The shivering gets worse. Yami can practically feel the illness eating at his Little One's chest and lungs. Limbs heavy with exhaustion that shouldn't be possible and eyes barely able to stay open for long. He's there when Grandfather stacks another set of blankets over his shivering form. He can see the worry clouding faded amethyst eyes.

"I know you can hear me, Yami." He murmurs, setting one hand on Yugi's forehead. "If this is what I think it is, he and I are in trouble. Please do what you can to take care of him. He's sleeping so much and his fever...You made him into a fighter you know. But I fear he may not be able to win this one."

I promise. He swears though he knows the old man won't be able to hear him. Yugi stirs, bleary amethyst eyes opening for only a handful of seconds before they close once more. Yami retreats into the puzzle, intent on doing what he can to help.

Better able to use his magic within the boundless limits of the puzzle he gently carries Yugi to his own soul room. A cloak of shadows and his arms are enough to keep the teen warm but no matter what he tries, there's nothing that can fight the rapidly spreading sickness. All he can do, he finds, is pray to the Gods above and keep his Little One warm.

Within the puzzle time passes oddly. A blink can span a year and a breath can take all but a second. No more than a couple of days pass before Yami becomes aware of the change. The magic within the puzzle calls to him, pulling him from his slumber and he opens his eyes finding the normally transparent tether linking Yugi to his body growing opaque. When it is a solid white the tether creaks, cracks and then suddenly it crumbles into dust.

Yugi stills in his arms, his form flickering several times before it solidifies again and Yami sighs, resting his forehead against the teen's. He knows what has happened and what will happen. The new tether will take time to form, time in which Yugi will not be allowed to leave the puzzle. He's grateful the puzzle has let him stay but now the spirit worries how his Little One will react when he learns of this development.

More time passes still, his internal clock telling him only hours pass though it feels like an eternity spent dozing waiting for Yugi to finally stir. With Yugi no longer tethered to his body Yami's unable to look upon the outside world. He can sense through his magic movement and change but hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling, or touching is beyond both of their grasps now. One thing he knows for sure is the puzzle is still in one piece. A blessing that both he and Yugi need. Finally, the body in his arms begins to stir.

Yami loosens his grip watching his Little One come around. He's bewildered, the older spirit can tell easily, but when Yugi starts asking questions he realizes the only way to explain is to show him. So he rises from the bed, the cocoon of shadows surrounding them disappearing with a twitch of his fingers, and holds out a hand to the teen.

Yugi, ever trusting, simply takes his hand and Yami leads him out of their soul room, back to the room where the door linking their rooms together had once been. He can see it, the moment things begin to click in place for the teen. The old spirit doesn't know why but he's scared, worried how his Little One will react to his actions and if Yugi'll hate him for getting him sealed away within the puzzle beside himself.

But this is Yugi. His hikari. The teen could no more hate him for trying to help then Yami could be mad at his Little One for forgiving Bakura and Marik. When the light steps forward, entwining their hands together it catches his attention.

"It's okay, Yami. I'd rather be here with you than you being stuck in here by yourself. As long as I have you that's more than enough." And when his Little One smiles that smile that reaches his eyes and lights up the room Yami knows that everything will be okay.

XxX

When faded amethyst land on the bundle of blankets laying on the bed he immediately can tell something isn't right. It's too quiet. After having listened to his Grandson's coughing and wheezing all night he knows his worst fears have come true. Still, he steps quietly into the room as if afraid to wake the teen up and gently rests his palm against the smooth forehead. He can't stop the tears from falling when he finds the skin ice cold. Inhaling a hiccuping breath Solomon turns away to call an ambulance when a flash catches his attention.

He turns back. In a cold outstretched hand having fallen from under the blankets, the puzzle sits gleaming in the morning light seeping through the curtains. Knowing his Grandson treasured the item and the powerful spirit slumbering within, Solomon carefully picks it up, weighing it in his hands before he finally leaves the room. The rest of the day goes by in a blur of medics, police and heartache that finally ends with a startling quiet house. Not once throughout the day has the puzzle left Solomon's sight but now that everything has calmed down he sits down, taking the chance to really look at the ancient relic.

Instead of cold gold, it's warm in his old hands. The Eye of Wadjet on the front shuddering as if in greeting. Yugi had always said it felt alive, even before he'd known of the spirit living within and now...Solomon can only agree with his thought. There's an energy running through the item—too subtle for the untrained eye—that makes it feel as if it has a heart of its own. When the old man holds it close a flash of a smile and light laughter fills his mind causing him to gasp in grief, large tears rolling down his cheeks once more.

Grizzly out for the night.